[Aarghon]

So, it finally happened...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...-shop-closes-canadian-stores/article23677084/

We alll know that Best buy stores are having a hard time, and they've just made a major move in restructuration. All Future shop stores in Canada were closed without any warning , even their employees didn't have a clue about the stores closure.

It is indeed a hard blow for the A/V sector in Canada, since Futureshop were the only big box brick and mortar in Canada selling non-entry level brands... Best buy stores in Canada do not hold any Magnolia specialty boutiques. All they hold is entry level garbage.

E-Commerce ( especially from Amazon ) is annihilating in-store business, and options for higher quality A/V merchandise are melting like snow under a desert sun...

And no store clearance sales, no deals to be made, I'm feeling the pain!

 

[SmokeKing]

Retail has some tough competition in on-line sales, and it will increase.

 

[FerretHunter]

No Big Loss

Future Shop was better than Best Buy in that you could negotiate a deal. But the honest truth is that they only carried entry level stuff and some limited mid-level gear for A/V. If you wanted high end stuff, you had to look elsewhere. The part of Future Shop I wont miss is the commissioned sales people hovering around you like vultures.

If you shop around at the remaining brick and mortar smaller shops, you'll find they are more open to larger discounts than Future Shop was. The exception was Boxing Day or very rare sales.

 

[RLBURNSIDE]

The big problem with Future Shop is that they are one and the same as Best Buy, actually owned by Best Buy, so they had the exact same prices, same unscrupulous price gouging of Canadian customers who are expected to pay 30% more than American customers, even AFTER the exchange rate is applied. I mean we pay greater than retail price.

Good riddance to Future Shop. If Best Buy follows, that will actually be bad, because as much as I prefer online shopping to actually pay comparable-to-US prices and get things as they come out instead of 6 months later, when you need a patch cable or an extra game controller and can't wait to order it online because you need it NOW, then it's good. Plus it exposes you to new products you might not have thought of getting.

BB at least it does price match against Amazon.ca and for things like TVs it's just much better to be able to see the TV in person before deciding. And be able to return it easily, or exchange it. Shipping back and forth is hugely wasteful and bad for the environment.

Then again most of the gear they sell at FS or BB is / was low-end crap. I literally couldn't find a single 144hz capable LCD monitor, and even the 60hz ones were TN and cost more than IPS ones on Amazon.

Amazon and online retailing is killing local mom & pop stores and jobs and ruining the middle class, but Best Buy and Future Shop are hardly bastions of worker empowerment either. We need a new economic system.

 

[wuther]

The big problem with Future Shop is that they are one and the same as Best Buy, actually owned by Best Buy, so they had the exact same prices, same unscrupulous price gouging of Canadian customers who are expected to pay 30% more than American customers, even AFTER the exchange rate is applied. I mean we pay greater than retail price.

As apposed to the other Canadian retailers that do the same thing? It's the US Manufacturers/Distributors that set the Canadian price not the Canada retailers. Some US Manufacturers/Distributors even have cataloges for retailers that clearly state a higher Canadian price.

 

[Edllguy]

As apposed to the other Canadian retailers that do the same thing? It's the US Manufacturers/Distributors that set the Canadian price not the Canada retailers. Some US Manufacturers/Distributors even have cataloges for retailers that clearly state a higher Canadian price.

I feel bad for the people who lost their jobs when Future Shop closed down. I hope most of them by now have found other employment.

Now that its a very streamlined company in Canada will we see better deals for the end consumer? You could always say that will never happen because the Canadian dollar has tanked but I would argue that BestBuy Canada could find more efficiency's and pass those savings to the end consumer.

I guess that may take time because the dust hasn't settled yet with this major transition.

 

[JA Fant]

Best Buy is a mere shadow of what it used to be as a trail-blazing retailer.

 

[homer999]

Best Buy is a mere shadow of what it used to be as a trail-blazing retailer.

So True!

 

[wuther]

Now that its a very streamlined company in Canada will we see better deals for the end consumer? You could always say that will never happen because the Canadian dollar has tanked but I would argue that BestBuy Canada could find more efficiency's and pass those savings to the end consumer.

BB pass on savings? You dont know them very well.

 

[Disto]

Maybe yes, lately when I do a web search for price comparison, I find that BB matches and sometimes beats other places like Amazon or TigerDirect.